As of 2010, Kenya had an overall national electrification rate of 23%, with rural energy access to the grid about 5% and urban access at 50%.The Kenyan Government is working to rapidly increase electrification rates in both urban and rural areas. As part of its national Vision 2030—to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030— Kenya aims to grow rural electricity access to 20% by 2012 and 40% by 2024.

Renewable energy potential

SolarSolar energy can be used for lighting bulbs, heating houses and water, drying and generating electricity. Kenya location astride the equator gives it a unique opportunity to invest in solar energy as it experiences solar radiations of 4-6kwh/m2/day and around 6 hours of strong sunlight (National energy policy, 2012). To get the amount of energy or the number of solar panels one would need the calculation below can be used: in Kenya where there is 5.6 hours of sun/day a 80W solar panel would produce=450Wh/day (Kilonzo, 2013):Wind EnergyKenya Aeolus Wind — 60 MW: The Government of Kenya, project financiers, and Aeolus Kenya Ltd. are closing agreements for the funding and construction of the Kinangop Wind Park. Power Africa also supports the implementation of a grid management program to assist Kenya in managing integration of intermittent renewable energy. The installed wind energy capacity to the grid was 5.45 MW as at June, 2012. Exploitation of wind energy resource in Kenya has however been hampered by high capital cost and lack of sufficient wind regime data among other factors.Biomass & biogasGeothermal resources in Kenya have an estimated potential of between 7,000 MWe to 10,000 MWe spread over 14 prospective sites in the Rift Valley.HydroSmall hydro potential is estimated at 3,000 MW of which it is estimated that less than 30 MW have been exploited and only 15.3 MW supply the national grid.www.ieakenya.or.ke/.../doc.../284-energy-in-kenyaGeothermalKenya’s Draft Energy Policy 2012 estimates geothermal potential within the Great Rift Valley at between 7,000 MW and 10,000 MW. The GDC, a state-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established for the development of geothermal resources in Kenya, recently invited bids for the development of 90 MW of geothermal power in the Menengai field within the Rift Valley by 2014. In addition to supporting the GDC, the GoK is also expected to create a Directorate to oversee renewable energy policy and a Renewable Energy Lead Agency to undertake the promotion of this resource, with a target 5,000 MW of geothermal power expected by 2030.

Energy framework

The Energy Policy and Act: Kenya’s energy policy of 2004 encourages implementation of indigenous renewable energy sources to enhance the country’s electricity supply capacity. The policy is implemented through the Energy Act of 2006, which provides for mitigation of climate change, through energy efficiency and promotion of renewable energy. In addition, the Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) policy of 2008 (revised 2012) promotes generation of electricity from renewable sources. It applies to geothermal, wind, small hydro, solar and biomass.Kenya’s Updated Least Cost Power Development Plan 2011-2030 (LCPDP). The government of Kenya (GoK) identifies nine projects as key pillars to the successful implementation of Vision 2030. These are expected to push the country’s energy requirements by about 890 MW, with highest demand expected from the Konza City ICT Park (440 MW) and Meru’s iron and steel smelting industry (315 MW). The LCPDP is the Ministry of Energy (MoE’s) power implementation plan for delivering the power sector targets outlined in Vision 2030.Under the LCPDP, Kenya’s generation capacity is projected to increase to 19,220 MW by 2030, with geothermal contributing a quarter of Kenya’s total installed capacity and hydro power dropping ten-fold to about 5 percent. The plan also highlights nuclear power as a potential power source, with an inaugural 1,000 MW plant planned for 2022. Commissioning of subsequent nuclear plants is expected to increase nuclear power generation to 3,000 MW by 2030.KPLC’s Updated Retail Tariff Application on 7 February 2013 (the Tariff Application) also identifies an additional 851 MW of generation capacity expected to be developed by independent power producers (IPPs) (private companies which generate and sell electricity). IPPs account for about 26% of the Kenya’s installed capacity thereby bridging the demand gap.

This Technology Transfer Advances Kenya's

Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce its GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 relative to the Business-As-Usual scenario and in line with its sustainable development agenda, and to mainstream climate change adaptation into the water sector.

EMC Consultants is a company dedicated to providing high-quality environmental outcomes and solutions for their clients. EMC is a wholly Kenyan-owned environmental consultancy that is small enough to focus on their clients, but large enough to provide expertise across a wide range of environmental and engineering services. They focus on delivering solutions through a highly consultative process as a way of providing the services.

Micro-irrigation system for smallholder farmers for horticultural production (e.g. vegetables and fruits), which comprises of:
_household farm pond (50m3) for harvesting surface runoff, lined with ultra-violet resistance plastic and roofed with either iron-sheet< or shade-net (supported by wooden or metallic structure)
_low-head drip irrigation system: 50-100-litre jerrican kit, or 230-litre mini-tank kit
_Simple hand pump (Hip pump) for lifting water from the farm pond into the drip system

In this study, an integrated modelling framework was assembled to investigate potential impacts of agricultural expansion and climate changes on irrigation water requirements in Taita Hills, Kenya. The framework comprised a land use change simulation model, a reference evapotranspiration model and synthetic precipitation data sets generated through a Monte Carlo simulation. In order to generate plausible climate change scenarios, outputs from General Climate Models were used as reference to perturbing the Monte Carlo simulations.

This solar dryer design is based on the design of a green -house and was designed by QSM and Associates. The main difference is that the dryer is fitted with fine wire mesh on both the windward and the leeward sides at the bottom for air inlet and an opening at the top to provide for exhaustion of the vapors coming from the produce. Inside the dyer are racks fitted with fine mesh wire of food grade material to hold the produce and the floor is plastered. The standard design is seven by fifteen meters and can hold a ton of fresh produce.

The CTCN conducts a series of Regional Forums to provide opportunities for NDEs, Network Members and climate technology stakeholders to meet and discuss some of the key issues and share experiences. The Africa Forum was jointly organized with the UNEP- DTU TNA project for National Coordinators of Africa Region and back-to-back with the 2018 African Carbon Forum (11-13 April 2018).

This policy brief examines how Kenya can create an enabling environment for private investment in adaptation, and how development partners can support this effort.

Private investments in adaptation are important. The costs of adaptation are too high to be met by the public sector alone, and developed countries have expressly envisioned private-sector contributions in their pledge to mobilize 100 billion USD per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries.

Kenya lies along the equator and receives enough sunshine during the year. There is potential for applying solar dryers to dry cereals such as maize, wheat and rice after harvesting. These cereals are widely grown in the country both by small households and in large farms.

Status of technology in country

In Kenya, GIZ has played a key role in introducing the technology. Most of the work was with simple direct, lowest cost type solar dryers. Such "simple" designs use frames made of wood, inside which screen trays are laid. A UV resistant plastic film is used as a cover.

According to this manual, sand dams are among the most cost-effective methods of rainwater harvesting known. They have the potential to provide communities living in dry land areas with an improved local water supply for life, even during periods of drought. The manual draws upon the experience of constructing sand dams in Kenya, where the majority of the world"s sand dams are located.

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Karina Larsen

The CTCN is the operational arm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism and is hosted by the UN Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and 11 independent, regional organizations with expertise in climate technologies.